


2015 - 24 Days of Tea

by Amaradex



Series: Days of Tea [1]
Category: Elementary (TV), Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sleepy Hollow (TV), Steven Universe (Cartoon), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Because of Reasons, Drabble Collection, Gen, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-06 01:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8730067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaradex/pseuds/Amaradex
Summary: Stories inspired by the names from the 2015 David's Tea 24 Days of Tea.  Each day is a different short one-shot or drabble, most in different fandoms and with different characters.





	1. Sleigh Ride - Sleepy Hollow, Gen, G

The wind is brisk and chilly and it whips snow through the air, turning Ichabod’s cheeks rosy red under his beard.  With his beard and hair both covered in snow, he looks like some demented Santa, grumpy rather than jolly.  Abbie stifles her laughter at him, and tugs him forward by his sleeve, ignoring his reticience.

 

“Lieutenant... Abbie... this seems like a rather foolish endeavour,” Ichabod stammers out, turning to her with wide eyes begging her not to hold him to his agreement.  She’s not inclined to be merciful, especially considering their bet had nearly cost her a chunk of her hair.

 

“I went down this hill when I was ten, Crane,” she points out acerbically.  “You’re hardly going to be hurt by something that children manage to do.”  She doesn’t bother sharing that one of her friends broke his leg on this very hill that same year.  Ichabod’s already ready to back out on their deal, and she’s not about to give him more ammo.

 

“Fine,” he huffs and seats himself on the sled, gripping the rope tightly with both hands.  He looks ridiculous, with his knees bent up to his chin and his knuckles white, and it’s all Abbie can do to not laugh out loud at him.

 

“Ready?” she asks instead, stepping behind him and crouching a little.

 

“If I must be,” he retorts, and somehow braces himself even more.  Abbie gives his back a strong shove, enough to get the sled moving over the edge of the hill.  He’s gone in a flurry of snow, a small yelp trailing behind him as the sled rushes down the hill, gathering speed as it goes.   


 

“Steer, Crane!” Abbie yells when she sees that he’s about to crash into the lone tree on the hill.  For a second, she doesn’t think he’s heard her, then the sled veers left just in time, slipping safely by the tree without even disturbing the snow on its bare boughs.  Within a few more seconds, Ichabod is pulling the sled around into a small semi-circle at the bottom of the hill.  Satisfied that he is safe, Abbie sits on her own sled and kicks it into motion, feeling exhilaration fill her as she flies down the side of the hill.

 

“See?” she says when she meets up with Ichabod at the bottom of the hill.  “I told you it would be fine.”  He scoffs but still comes over to help her off the sled, hoisting her up with a single strong pull.

 

“You were correct, Lieutenant,” he says to her.  “But I think that was quite enough for me.  Perhaps we could turn to something a little less... childish?”  Abbie laughs at him, but squeezes his hand once before letting it go.

 

“Sure, Crane.  What did you have in mind?”  He takes her sled and tucks it under his arm along with his, then leads her back to her car, throwing out suggestions as they go.


	2. Mango Madness - Steven Universe, Gen, G

Steven’s up early, running over to the window as soon as he wriggles his way out from under the covers to see if there’s snow yet.  He wilts as soon as he realizes that the beach is its usually sandy color, though the sea is a dark green and the sky is full of forbiddingly dark clouds.  He sighs loudly and clomps down the stairs even more loudly, heading to the kitchen to peer in the fridge disconsolately, sighing once again when he realizes that Amethyst has cleaned it out once again.

 

He climbs onto the counter to peer into the cabinets that are a little harder for the ravenous Gem to reach, pushing aside cans of beans and tins of what seems to be cat food, looking for something –   _anything_ – that appeals to him.  He shifts another few cans aside and then seizes one that feels a little different, pulling it to the front of the shelf so that he can see it clearly.

 

“I didn’t know we had mangos…” he muses aloud, turning the can around and around to try and see if any part of it seems familiar.  Nothing comes to mind, though, so he eventually shrugs and puts the can down on the counter next to him, readying himself to climb back down.

 

“Hiya, Steven!” Amethyst shouts, suddenly appearing right next to him.  He jumps and then slips, falling backward only to land in Garnet’s arms, her visor glinting down at him and her lips quirked slightly in amusement.

 

“Amethyst!” Pearl scolds as Garnet sets Steven on the ground and ruffles his hair.  “Steven could have been hurt!”

 

“I’m fine, Pearl,” Steven reassures her, giving her a warm hug that gets her to drop her stern facade.  Amethyst grabs him once he lets Pearl go and gently tousles his hair, before spinning him away so that she can go examine his can of mangos.

 

“Whatcha got here, Steven?” she asks, as though she can’t read the can for herself.

 

“Mangos,” he tells her nonetheless.  “I didn’t even know we had mangos!  But I couldn’t find anything to have for breakfast, so I decided to look in the cupboards and there they were.”  He pokes at the can, giving it a suspicious look.  He’s learned not to trust the sudden appearance of things, even if they are just cans of fruit.

 

Amethyst clearly hasn’t learned the same, as she suddenly seizes the can and tosses it into her mouth, stretching it wider than is natural in order to fit the entire can in one bite.  She swallows it whole, as far as he can see, and then burps and grins at him.

 

“Amethyst!”  he exclaims, caught between disappointment and humor.  “Now what am I going to eat for breakfast?”  Pearl huffs at Amethyst but Garnet just chuckles slightly and ruffles his hair again.

 

“Big Donut?” she asks as Pearl starts to scold Amethyst again.  Steven gives her a blinding grin and takes her hand, leading her towards the door while the other two Gems begin their customary argument.

 

“You sure know the way to my heart, Garnet,” Steven tells her, and they both laugh as she gently pokes his gem.


	3. Orange Pekoe - Sherlock Holmes, Gen, G

“What  _ is _ that,” Holmes practically shouted, sounding completely incensed.  His long finger pointed accusingly at the mug of reddish brown liquid in front of him, trembling as though he was somehow harmed.

 

“You did order tea with your breakfast?” the woman serving them asked, her voice shaky and her eyes wide.

 

“ _ That _ is not tea!  That is an abhorrence, an insult, a pox on the very name of tea!”  His voice grew steadily in volume, until he was actually roaring, his eyes wide and white against the faint red spots atop his cheeks.

  
Watson sighed and dropped his head into his hands.  He’d told Mycroft that sending them to America was a bad idea.


	4. Organic Sweet Almond Green - Elementary, Gen, G

“What do you think?” Sherlock asked eagerly, perching himself on a stool and leaning forward intently.  Joan ignored him steadfastly, inspecting the salad carefully before she loaded a full bite onto her fork.  Everything seemed in order, but Sherlock had used her as a guinea pig one too many times for her to entirely trust him.

 

“It's good!” she said once she'd chewed her bite thoroughly, stabbing another forkful.  “What is it?”

 

“A blend of organic greens and fruits, along with some almonds,” Sherlock responded, sliding down off his stool and heading over to the fridge.  “I wanted to make something different for Clyde and needed to ensure that it tasted good.” Joan hurried to chew her mouthful, feeling incensed.

  
“You're testing Clyde's food on me now, Sherlock?” she asked sharply.  “And can he even eat almonds?” She turned to her friend and mentor for the answer only to find that he'd wandered off already.  She sighed deeply but turned back to the salad, unwilling to waste it just to chase off after Sherlock.  It was quite good after all, and he wasn't likely to answer any of her questions in a satisfactory way.


	5. Banana Nut Bread - Avengers, Gen, G

Nat’s in the kitchen again, and they’re all holding their breath, not wanting to risk setting something off.  None of them know exactly how they can set off her measurements from another room, but they’re still terrified of it.  And none of them are willing to consider exactly how ridiculous it is for five superheros (well, four superheros and a more normal hero) to be afraid of one superspy turned hero, especially when what they’re afraid of is her lack of baking aptitude.  Deep down in their guts, they all know the fear is reasonable.

 

Right now, though, all she’s doing is whistling cheerfully, dishes clattering as she mixes and tastes her concoction.  Clint shifts slightly, freezing when the leather creaks and Tony and Thor shoot him looks of both terror and anger.  When the clatter from the kitchen continues, they all relax again, though not too much, none of them wanting to be the next person to make a noise.

 

Finally, they hear the oven creak open and they all start chattering inanely, none of them actually having a conversation, just making noise to avoid her knowing that they'd all been sitting there listening to her.   It doesn't take long before they’re making actual conversation, though, Tony and Bruce discussing their plans for an artificial intelligence while Thor and Steve listen to Clint tell them made up facts, torn between believing him and thinking that he must be lying.

 

“Let me know when the timer goes,” Nat says as she comes out of the kitchen, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead and leaving a streak of flour behind.  “I'm taking a shower.”. She doesn't even wait for them to respond, just turns to the elevator and steps into it, Jarvis having anticipated her need.

 

As soon as the elevator has whisked itself up and away, they’re all on their feet, slowly inching towards the kitchen with one eyes on the elevator doors, worried that Nat will change her mind and come back to find them investigating the war zone she has created.  But she doesn't come back and eventually they reach the doorway of the kitchen, where they hesitate in one trembling mass until somebody (Tony) pushes from the back and the person in the front (Steve) ends up stumbling through the threshold.

 

Inside, the kitchen does indeed look as though a bomb went off in it, although it's somehow still better than it usually is when Nat’s tried to cook.  There's flour on the floor and the counter, eggshell bits everywhere, and a smear of something faintly yellowish-brown in one corner, but otherwise things are at least neatly messy, with the dirty dishes even stacked in the sink.  And the smell coming from the oven is almost edible, though they're all aware that it's early.

 

“So what’s she making?” Clint asks for a moment, and their eyes all turn to the recipe laid out on the island.  They hesitate once again before Bruce (the closest.one) steps forward and leans over slightly, quickly reading through the recipe even though it's upside down.

 

“Banana nut bread,” he tells them, sounding confused.  They all are, at least a little bit - Nat’s never tried desserts or treats before.  They don't get much time to contemplate, though, because Jarvis is suddenly informing them that Black Widow has decided to just wash her face and is heading back down.  They all scramble back to the living room and manage to get into some semblance of their previous positions before the elevator doors open.  Nat gives them all a suspicious look, but she continues on into the kitchen, and if they sigh audibly when there's no outburst from her, none of them mention it.

  
When she gets them all to test out her recipe an hour later, they're all able to tell her it's good.  And they're not lying to save their own skins this time either.  Turns out the one think Nat can do in the kitchen is bake sweets.  None of them dares to tell her that, though.


End file.
